Download the "Forever Flex: Making flexible working work beyond a crisis" report now. The research was conducted by Claremont during lockdown, commissioned by Mother Pukka and funded by Sir Robert McAlpine.
The research, conducted during lockdown, aims to provide employers with something more than just stats on flexible working. It is a study of real life success stories and evidence based advice which will resonate on a human level. This report provides the first examples of how flexible working can be managed successfully across all sectors of industry, resulting in a happier and more efficient workforce.
In 2019, we backed Mother Pukka’s Flex Appeal campaign to fund research that would provide flexible working solutions for employers and increase flexible working opportunities for employees. This was motivated by our commitment to driving inclusion, improving the work life balance of its workforce, and addressing the issue of mental health in construction, which records an alarming rate of male suicides each year. As the pandemic and subsequent lockdown hit in March 2020, the country was flung into the great Covid “flex-periment”, where forced remote working conditions were quite different from true flexible working. The focus of the Flex Appeal study then shifted towards providing examples of successful flexible working, applicable for the long term, after the pandemic.
In key highlights, the Forever Flex report shows that whilst 72% wished to retain home working after the pandemic, just 66% of employers in the construction sector intended to do so.
Crucially, the report stresses that, whilst the pandemic helped challenge common employer misconceptions around flexible working, there remains a need for greater clarity to facilitate a shift from the ‘accidental flex’ – unplanned changes to working patterns necessitated by the pandemic - towards a ‘true flex’, where flexible working is consistently and effectively utilised.
The Forever Flex report is an essential and practical guide to exploring true flexible working that I invite everyone to read. I am proud that Sir Robert McAlpine has played a part in its production, and I hope it will be beneficial to employers and individuals alike, for the months to come.
Paul Hamer Chief Executive Officer
Based on interviews with leaders and decision makers at 32 companies that have already embraced flexible working, the report provides guidance for businesses on how they can successfully shift towards ‘true flex’:
"Of course, like many organisations across the country, we don’t have all the answers yet and are on our own journey to introduce flexible working for everyone, because each of us has the right to a healthy work life balance. This is the foundation for anyone to prosper in their professional environment and be happy in their personal life.
"If flexible working can somehow have a positive impact on mental health and help us reverse the alarming trend of male suicides in construction, then I am 100 percent committed to supporting it.
"I also believe that offering everyone a working environment in which they can thrive and be their best through flexible working can help pave the way to greater inclusion, diversity and the much-needed reduction of the gender pay gap,” Paul Hamer, Chief Executive Officer.
Download Forever Flex: Making flexible working work beyond a crisis
In the wake of the lockdown, Group Director of Marketing and Communications, Lynda Thwaite, argues that we have a duty to explore how flexible working can work in the long term and rethink our office space. Does “building back better” also mean “working back smarter?"
We are proud to introduce our Beyond 1% podcast which features women with extensive careers in construction discussing the realities of working in this largely male dominated industry.
Welcome to the second installment of our Beyond 1% podcast which features women with extensive careers in construction discussing the realities of working in this traditionally male-dominated industry.
